Cheaters Never Prosper

[Tio Silver]

The Scalvoris Sapphire Inn, Almund.
11th of Ashan, 720.

"That's another win for me! Guess Chrien's luck is with me tonight."

Tio glared across the table at the speaker, hoping to somehow set him on fire with the sheer force of glare alone. The target of his ire was a muscular yet dumpy brute of a man with a bald head; like a potato that'd hit the gym too much. It wasn't the guy's stupid appearance that Tio hated, nor even his faux-innocent boasting.

It was the fact that he was a cheat.

Tio was certain of it. He had absolute, definite proof that Mr Dumpy was as crooked as a barrel of fish hooks. The only problem was that he couldn't share that proof with the rest of the table, mainly because he was also cheating. Tio had been playing at this poker table for a number of trials now, and had been subtly pinching his fingernail against the sides of every face and ace card he'd held to create tiny indents on them. Eventually he'd been able to mark them all, letting him know who held the really good cards at any time.

Except that tonight Dumpy had joined the game, and had quickly started laying down face and ace cards that didn't have marking on them. The git must have been hiding cards up his sleeve and switching them out when it suited him. How he'd been able to know when the others hadn't picked those cards up Tio hadn't figured out yet, but he was sure it involved even more cheating.

"Bloody cheats. They ruin the game for everyone." He thought to himself without a shred of hypocrisy.

"How about we take a break?" One of the other players called, and was met by a chorus of grumbled agreements. Seems he wasn't the only one who'd lost a lot of money to Dumpy's "lucky streak" tonight. Tio moped over to the bar, ordered a drink, and promptly slouched into the bar stool he'd sat on with an irritated huff and a fierce pout. Damn it, he'd lost so much nel tonight!

The boisterous laughter of Dumpy sounded from across the room, and Tio grit his teeth. Okay, this wasn't going to fly! He was the Devout dammit! One of the most powerful men on this island! He shouldn't be getting fleece by some two-bit cheapskate in a bar!

Come to think of it Dumpy wasn't exactly sober. Maybe he should try to steal his money back? It wasn't as if there was any dishonour in stealing from a cheat after all.

[Isodol]

x

“Who in the fuck even parks like that?!”

Isodol had awaken in a blur. It was almost as if she had gained consciousness a little too fast, her head still stuck in dreamland while the rest of her body was up and ready to move. Every movement she made felt slightly dizzy, dreamy even, like she wasn’t entirely there; everything she saw made her head fuzzy, like the symptom of an oncoming panic attack. One thing she could ascertain, however, was how this person had parked his or her wagon directly in front of the entrance to the Sapphire Inn.

“Like, seriously.”

A vindictive thought spurred to life within her. After rolling her eyes had caused a wave of nausea to envelop her, she looked behind her. No one seemed to be watching; people’s attentions were elsewhere. She quickly pulled one of her daggers out from its resting place against her hip. She kept one tucked in her undergarments for safe keeping. She never knew what kind of trouble would come poking its ugly nose in her business.

With the dagger held tightly in her hand, she slowly and casually walked near the wooden wagon. She held the weapon as close to her body as she could so no one could make a guess as to her next move. Then, she quickly dropped to a crouch and dragged the knife across the wagon. She carved a symbol followed by another symbol, followed by another still that only slightly resembled the word “ass” before stowing away her blade.

She looked over her shoulder again and cursed a loud. “Damn boot,” she scoffed, making to mess with her footwear like it was giving her trouble. “Always falling off.” Then she stood, pulled a strand of her hair behind her ear and entered the building before her.

Inside felt damp, or perhaps she was catching a cold, she couldn’t tell. Today did feel a little humid after all. But what really caught her off-guard was the sickly-sweet smell of something floral. Isodol wrinkled her nose up in disgust. She never was a big fan of flowers. She tried to focus on something else instead and lo and behold the strong and somewhat vile scent of alcohol filled her nostrils. It led her away from the front doors and into a section of the room where a barkeep stood washing a glass out with a fabric cloth.

She flopped onto the nearest seat to her, but not before her cold and calculating eyes captured the looks of a dark rum. Pausing, she thought to herself, no, no, no, you’re here to make money, not spend it. But gambling was never a fool-proof hobby for raking in the dough.

Thankfully for her, a hot and radiating presence of anger boiled beside her. His face was making subtle, yet strange faces: disappointment, sorrow, frustration. Isodol wanted to touch him then, to feel what he was feeling, to understand why he was seeming so sour. Maybe even to play with him a little and see if she could get him to pop. But her head was level atop her shoulders today. She was still recharging from the singing of hot blood that was coursing through her veins, the kind that comes after partaking in a risky activity.

“Oooh,” she all but whistled through her teeth. “Them panties- they are a twisted.” She swiveled on her chair so that she was facing the stranger. She had yet to get a good look at him, but he seemed young and his eyes held a reflective colour much like her own.

Tilting her head to its side, her hair fell ever so gently into her eyes. “Lose a bet?” She took another risk (talking to a stranger was big enough as it was) and leant forward in her chair. “Wanna make another?”

[Tio Silver]

Tio looked up from his drink at the sound of someone whistling to find that a woman had taken a seat next to him. She looked human, with brown hair and casual clothing, and didn't immediately stand out from the rest of the crowd in the inn. However now that she was up close and looking directly at him, Tio couldn't help but notice the unusual sharpness to her eyes. They were an intense icy blue, similar to how his had once been when he was mortal.

The woman commented on his obvious annoyance, and then to his surprise suggested they make a bet. Tio had to admit to being caught off guard for a second. It wasn't every day that a complete stranger walked up to you and requested something like that before they'd even introduced themselves after all. Yet his surprise quickly morphed into amusement, and the corners of his mouth tugged up into the beginnings of a grin. This turn of events had all the hallmarks of the beginning of something crazy, and the woman seemed like she might be mad enough to make this fun.

"If we're talking about money here then I'm afraid Mr Potato Head over there has already cheated me out of everything I'm willing to spend tonight." He replied, pointing over to the cheat. "But if you're willing to wager with something stranger you have my undivided attention. I have a surprisingly vast collection of magical trinkets. What kind of a bet did you have in mind?"

He extended a hand out to her. "I'm Tio by the way. Tio Silver. What's your name?"

[Isodol]

x

Was she being weird? She felt like she was being weird.

Was he going to rocket a fist across her jaw? Give her some flippant remark before ignoring her? Or would luck be on her side and maybe, just maybe, he’ll cave into her playful whim and find interest in her proposal? Regardless of the turnout, did she really care all that much what would happen? Her heedless attitude was giving no indication of backing down today.

His eyes glimmered with something, and fortunately for her, it seemed like it didn’t originate from a point of malice. She wondered if he was kind-natured or secretly an asshole like that guy who had parked so haphazardly outside the inn. Eyes only told so much from someone and even then, Isodol was usually wrong.

The little smirk blossoming from the corners of his mouth either made butterflies roil in her stomach or a rock plummet to the bottom of it. He wasn’t- he didn’t think she was being silly, did he? How dare he if he did! She bit the end of her tongue. Alongside being covertly self-conscious, she was always fast to assume the worst in people, always all too quick to see the negativity over everything else. Perhaps this was a smart strategy, in the long run at least. What kind of person would you be if you went around thinking everyone only ever had pure intentions? A gullible numb-skull, that’s what. But she wasn’t so sure that “secretive asshole-ness” fit the cut of this guys’ jib.

“Well,” she started, prolonging the word so that it seemed more like she was saying ‘whale’ than ‘well’. “I bet you won’t buy me a drink of that exquisite dark rum over there.” She then pointed to the end of the shelf where a dark glass bottle sat seemingly untouched just above the bartender’s small head. She cleared her throat and laughed, but it sounded more like a bark, so she tried again. “I’m just messing with you,” she clarified. But more earnestly still, “unless you do have more money stowed away somewhere.” Her eyes went wide for a split second; another playful gesture. But it wasn’t much for that playfulness to subside.

Cheater? Cheated?!

Isodol couldn’t mirror the man’s grin. She began to frown, and her eyes shrank slightly until they were almost slits. “Hell,” was all she could manage to say. With a natural born passion for the game, it was no wonder she hated those who rigged it or made out great while leaving others behind to look foolish. She hated looking foolish. Her ego was too inflated to be punctured by a con man.

“D’ya know that man?” she asked then, as though she hadn’t just been inquired about her name. “Anything at all?” She looked over Tio’s shoulder at the one he called ‘Mr. Potato Head’ and narrowed her eyes until she could barely see anything at all.

“How about we put that bald prick back where he belongs, eh?” She got up from her seat and gently patted the back of her newest acquaintance. “It’s Isodol by the way.”

She was already starting to walk in the bald man’s direction before Tio could say anything. She only hoped he would be even remarkably interested in her idea. And that he would follow.

[Tio Silver]

Tio raised an eyebrow questioningly, but couldn't stop a snort of laughter from escaping his lips as the woman, Isodol, tried to get him to buy her a bottle of rum. "Nice try. How about a compromise." He grinned, waving for the bartender and pointing to the bottle. When the bartender came back with it Tio threw down enough money to buy the whole thing and took it from him. "I'll bet you that you can't drink this entire bottle without pausing for breath. If you win you get a free drink. If you loose I'll put a curse on you. How about it?" He sounded flippant as he said it, yet there was a very brief flash of some tiny spark of light in his eyes that was gone as soon as it came. "What do you say?"

He watched with clear curiosity as Isodol's cheerful temperament showed a spit of fire at the mention of the cheat. Seemed she was a bit of an enthusiast for the cards then. "Can't say that I do." He replied in answer to her question. "I often play cards at this table, and it's the first time I've seen him. I know he's been hiding cards up his sleeve, but I can't expose him to the rest of the table. I think we mentioned something about working as hired muscle somewhere. The docks maybe? The memory escapes me."

Isodol stood up, mentioning something about putting the cheat in his place, and with a bemused grin Tio stood up and followed after her. This new acquaintance of his really moved to the beat of her own drum, and he would be lying if he said he wasn't interested in seeing how this went. He jogged a little to catch up, following along just behind her. "Alright then big shot, what's the plan. I'll follow your lead."

[Isodol]

x

Isodol’s mind was rummaging through the thoughts of the conversation. Oh, how she so devilishly craved to drink that rum, to feel its acrid taste and harsh texture on her tongue and in the back of her throat. She would win at his proposed competition, she knew it. When this was all over with, she would confront Tio again and request that drink, prove to him that she was no lightweight, and that she clearly did not fall prey to the stigma of daintiness that so haunted the womanly title.

She whispered back to him then, “I’ll take you up on that wager.” But, you know, it would be much of a fair fight, she thought, inwardly snickering.

Once she had approached the table where the large thug was sitting, she cocked her head to the side, feigning an innocence that even she was surprised she could.

“I hear we’re playing some cards here,” she began with a lowered voice directed towards the balding man. “Mind if I give it a shot?”

She hoped Tio caught on to her intentions, but just to make sure, she nudged him softly where he stood behind her.

The man scoffed then and looked up at her with a bemused expression. “Alright little lady,” he said, leaning back in his chair and raising his arms above his head as in relaxation. “But I’m not going easy on you.”

Isodol nodded her head and took a few steps away from the table. Only two other players aside from Mr. Potato Head remained after the last game. She pulled Tio to the side and eyed him seriously.

“What if I played him and you watched. Make sure he doesn’t do anything funny. And if he does-” she paused for effect, searching his eyes for some form of understanding- “you claim so. I have a feeling he’s not going to stop his trick now and I want to make sure you’re telling the truth and aren’t in cahoots with him or something.”

Cahoots? Who in the hell even said that anymore? Regardless, her distrust in anyone was starting to seep through the cracks of her friendly, confident visage. And it wasn’t exactly like she would be losing anything valuable. Sure, she may get taken advantage of, tricked into losing some of her money, but she knew she would exact her revenge on the con. Besides, Tio seemed like a genuine person who would back her up when the time came. And if Baldy didn’t use any scam against her, then she may have a chance on winning, maybe earn a few bucks while increasing the size of her ego.

“If he cheats, we wait until he leaves. I don’t give a crap if he’s some muscly brute, I despise people who rig the system.”

She brushed a stray lock of hair away from her face. “If you’re interested, you can join me. I may not know who you are, and I may not trust you, but I know one thing and that’s passion and I’m sure I see it in you.”

With some form of elegance, Isodol turned on her heel and headed back to the table. She nodded to one of the players to continue their shuffling of the cards and set to examining her patience.

[Tio Silver]

It was getting hard to keep a straight face. Isodol was clearly had a great deal of respect for gambling and was determined to beat the cheater as his own game, yet had no idea that she was recruiting another card cheat to help her take him down. There was a delicious irony there, but one that Tio was reluctant to reveal. Hopefully Isodol didn't think he was mocking her.

"Alright, sounds like a plan. I'm pretty sure the guy is slipping cards to and from his sleeve, but he's being surprisingly subtle about it. Keep an eye on his cards at all times. I'll take a seat at a nearby table. Good luck." Tio replied, giving her a quick nod.

As Isodol took a seat at the table Tio walked away until he was out of sight of the gamblers, then hid behind a wooden beam and gave the collar of his shirt a tug. The threads of his duplicity suit came to life, swirling and slithering like a clutch of snakes as they reformed into an entirely new garment. Within a few seconds his suit had become a worn brown cloak; he kind travellers liked to wear. Tio pulled the hood of the cloak up to obscure his face and stalked back towards the table from another direction.

A new game was beginning on the poker table as he approached again. Tio took a seat at a nearby table, trying to draw as little attention to himself as possible, and watched as a cranky-looking elderly lady dealt a hand of cards to Isodol and the rest of the players. From where he sat he could just about get a glimpse of Mr Potato's hand, and it wasn't looking good: the 3 of clubs and 5 of hearts. The dealer turned over the three flop cards: the jack of hearts, jack of diamonds, and 6 of hearts.

Mr Potato peaked at his cards, smirked to himself, and then placed his cards flat back against the table. Then he took five gold nel coins, a ridiculously high amount for a bet in a place like this, and placed them forwards. "I raise to five gold." His eyes locked with Isodol's silently daring her to take his challenge.

[Isodol]

x

The seat was unbearably uncomfortable, forcing Isodol to shift her position every few seconds. For a place as regal looking as this the least they could have done was covered the chairs with some better fabric, maybe even a cushion. Was that too much to ask?

The hand she was holding wasn’t as great as she had originally hoped, the luck she had so imaginarily presumed upon herself started to quickly dissipate in the air along with her ego. But could anyone else have such superior cards?

She tried to make quick glances at her opponents, noticing only obvious details about the expressions each person held. The dealer, a geriatric woman who probably could have been no younger than sixty seemed to have some experience at controlling her facial features. Aside from the lines of age marring her face, there were no additional wrinkles created from the pulling of her brows together or the upturning of her mouth; she didn’t seem confused or concerned, just stoic almost as though she knew what she was doing or was exceptionally good at keeping her composure. The balding cheat held a small smirk on his face, but she didn’t know if that was because of his usual arrogance, because he was doing well right off the bat or because it was his attempt at bluffing his way to the top. The other players were hard to tell much of anything at all. And she? Well, she tried to staunch the tight twisting of her stomach from reaching her face. She settled her face until her lips were nothing but a thin line and relaxed her brow, trying to find comfort in knowing this was just the beginning of the game and that there were more opportunities to get ahead. But, damn. Raising so many coins this early? Would it be naive and utterly gullible of her to succumb to such possible trickery? Or was she just being superstitious, a bit too skeptical towards the guy? Either way, she couldn’t feign knowing that it wouldn’t be smart for her to blow her money all in one turn. She may be reckless, but she wasn’t... reckless.

Isodol closed her eyes for a mere moment, hoping no one would see this as a sign of resignation. Her cards were not the best, she knew that. She also had some subtle understanding of the odds. She hadn’t played much poker. Most of her experience had come from lesser known games, made up games, and a few rounds of shithead. But poker? She was in more of a position to test the waters first before purposefully bludgeoning herself with a beginners folly. Yet, at the same time she had always held a decent relationship with beginners luck.

She put her cards down, a sign of passing before announcing that she was folding. This, all not much after seeing Mr. Potato Head grinning wildly with triumph. She contemplated for a moment whether she took the correct course of action. Even if he did have cards up his sleeve, who’s to say someone else at the table didn’t have better ones? The whole bloody table could be full of cheats.

But she knew cheating didn’t always guarantee success. Hard work did and she wouldn't stop believing in that.

Thankfully for her no one else seemed eager to raise the wager except the elderly woman. And once Baldy upped the bid once more and was reciprocated in kind before the betting interval was over, the cards were called. The showdown was not as interesting as she would have hoped. She knew what was coming.

Once both the woman and the man flipped their cards over, the faces visible, there was a cumulative gasp heard amongst the table. Isodol was not one to contribute.

The only part worth noting from the woman’s hand was her jack of spades. This supplied the already two pairs of jacks with a third, making her hand a three of a kind. Baldy, however, managed to add his six of spades and six of diamonds to the preceding cards in the middle.

A full house.

Isodol tried to rack her brain for an explanation. It all seemed too much of a coincidence. Could he really have had both of those six’s? And on the first turn?

Her eyebrows knotted. She raised her eyes from the cards to the room and tried to survey its populace for Tio. Did he see any trickery amongst the man? Would he tell her if he did? Or was he in on this whole charade, an option she had just now decided to consider?

[Tio Silver]

"How?!"

The look of shock on Tio's face was as clear as day. He had kept his eyes glued to Mr Potato's hand the entire time, and was absolutely certain that the cards the man had held were a 3 and a 5. He was also certain that at no point had the cheat switched out his cards with some sleight of hand trick. He had simply placed his card faced down on the table, and when he picked them up again for the reveal they had suddenly become the remaining pair of 6's! There had been no suspicious movements, no dubious touching, no nothing!

Could he be using illusions to change the faces of his cards? No, that alone wouldn't be enough. It would only take one person to draw the real card to reveal the lie. Somehow he was able to know what cards other people hadn't drawn as well. Yet if he could both read minds and create illusions he could be making more money than this far more quickly elsewhere. Unless the power only worked for playing cards? No, what use would a power with such a limited scope be? Or if he did possess such a power why waste it playing cheap games here rather than on the professional circuit?

Ugh, there were too many questions and not enough answers. He'd end up driving himself mad at this rate without any evidence to go on. He'd have to introduce some kind of unexpected element to the next game and hope that uncovered something new.

The next round started, and this time it was Mr Potato's turn to deal the cards. With a smug grin he slid the cards out across the table, then took a peak at his own. He'd just so happened to draw the Ace and King of Spades, and the flop cards contained a Queen of Diamonds, the 10 of Clubs, and the 4 of Clubs. Somehow Tio got the feeling that one of the remaining face downs would be a Jack if the cheat should wish it. It couldn't be coincidence he'd gained such a strong hand on the turn he got to deal.

Tio quickly stood and strode to the bar, the threads of his cloak already squirming as they began to rework themselves back into his original clothing. He grabbed an empty glass someone had left on the bar, then made a beeline back to the table. As he walked his allowed his shoulders to slouch, his balance to wobble and his eyes to go slightly crossed. He slapped himself hard across both cheeks to make them slightly red, and forced himself to start breathing heavier.

Just as the start of the first round of betting began there was a shout of "'Ey you!" And a thump as Tio suddenly stumbled into the table, appearing for all the world like a senseless drunk. He staggered a bit, looking like he might fall over for a second, and then pointed a finger right up close into the cheat's face! "You sir!-... You-..." Tio slurred, peering closer at him. "Who are you again?"

The cheat, who appeared to be surprised but slightly amused by this turn of events, smirked back at him. "Allar. Why don't ya sit down mate? Yer makin' a bit of a fool of yerself."

"I don't need you to tell me I'm making fool of myself! I can make myself aware of that thank you very much!" Tio blathered out. He opened his mouth as if to continue his rant, then staggered back as he almost fell backward. "... Oh. Maybe I do need to sit down. But I'll be back! You haven't heard the last of me!"

Tio staggered away again, waiting until he was sufficiently hidden amidst the rest of the crowd before snapping out of his drunken act. As he did a wolfish grin crossed his lips. Hopefully Isodol had noticed the same thing that he had.

When Tio had bumped into the table out of nowhere all of the players had looked over to him instinctively. And yet Allar's shadow, which was being cast on the table by the light of a candle behind him, hadn't moved its head at the same as Allar; it had moved just a fraction of a second before him. The shadow was the key!

[Isodol]

x

The next game had begun all too quickly; Isodol had not readied herself. She had yet to locate Tio out from amongst the throng of bar dwellers and partygoers. Had he bailed on her? Turned tail and went the opposite direction? Perhaps she had been kidding herself, mixing herself up in other people’s business for the fun of it when the fun was really being made out of her.

Her mind was reeling at a million kilometres a minute, trying to decipher the code the con had laid out for her. But she wasn’t very good at puzzles. She had always hated not knowing the answers to things, had given up all too quickly when the going got tough and she was left to feel stupid. She hated feeling stupid. And she hated the torrential feeling quickly filling her stomach.

She wiggled on her chair, propping her leg up under her bum, raising herself an inch higher. No one had left and no one had joined in between rounds, leaving the same number of people with the same number of cards and the same amount of opportunities for her to win… or lose.

She swallowed a lump-full of phlegm and straightened out her arms. Her new hand was again nothing to be cheerful about, yet it was better than what she held previous. She shuffled her cards subconsciously; not a tell, mind her, but just a mind-numbing act of boredom as she waited for the next big show.

But what she did not expect, however, was the show to be brought to the table.

A stranger, off his rocker with booze, waddled all too close to the corner of the table. He almost vaulted over the wooden furnishing, nearly scattering the cards in the process. Isodol, drawn to the value of alcohol, quickly found the glass in the drunk’s hand. But she abruptly became confused, as the cup was empty, almost entirely bone dry, like it hadn’t held an ounce of liquor in it for quite some time. There was no need to worry about spilled alcohol, but there was need to worry about what this guy was doing.

She snapped her head towards the balding brute, who she knew now went by the name of Allar. She watched in earnest for his reaction. Surely, he would not take kindly to this alcoholic fiend ruining the focus of the game. Her eyes wandered from his face to his hands before he had the chance to react. She was searching for some clue, some hidden trick he was utilizing for his benefit, but his hands, and from what she could tell of his sleeve, held nothing.

But zooming further into the background, her gaze found some unease. A reflection, not reflecting what it was supposed to be reflecting. It was like a mirror that wasn’t there, a nonexistent mirror, replaced with someone who looked like the person viewing their reflection. Every move the person made, the mirror who was not the mirror, but a person, would mimic… or something like that.

The shadow, his shadow, was one second too late at adjusting itself to match the quick jerk of Allar’s head as he reacted to the drunken man’s spectacle.

Isodol’s eyes nearly bugged out of her head. She had never experienced anything like that before. She couldn’t comprehend what she had just seen. Sure, she was no stranger to magic, but illusions were not commonplace for her.

Isodol jumped from her seat. “Woah,” she purred, eyeing Allar, but wondering if he could feel the visceral tension that was white hot behind her eyes. “Just the sight of that has my stomach roiling a bit. I might have to go and freshen up a bit. You know how ladies are.”

Leaving at a time such as now was a blessing. The table had to regather everyone’s attention, reorganize all the cards that may or may not have gotten moved during the scuffle, and re-evaluate themselves and their opponents.

She could barely hear the aggressive shout, “that was my card!” from behind her as she hurried away.

She didn’t hold back from pushing those that got in her way. She was a woman on a mission, and while she didn’t know where the bathroom was (and was she even really going that way anyway?), she needed to find a place that was more solitary, quieter, so she could think.

Out of the corner of her eye, she saw a striking resemblance to the man who had just caused the recent commotion.

“You there,” she murmured, but the hustle and bustle of the bar buried her voice. The cacophony was becoming too much. Her head was spinning, and her legs were feeling a bit like gelatin. There were too few air molecules and too many people sucking up the oxygen.

She finally came up behind the man, him having not heard her over the raucous of the partygoers. And she found something quite peculiar about him, something she had remembered subconsciously seeing from someone she had met at the beginning of the night.

While the room was dark, she could make out the gap between the man’s feet and the floor underneath them. The same act of levitation had been illustrated to her by Tio. Could this have been the same man?

“Tio,” she announced rather than asked. She was feeling confident, but also growing exhausted with these games. It was illogical that it would be her newfound acquaintance, but the odds of two floating men in one night seemed much too low.

She let her soft hair fall over her face like a waterfall as she softly admitted, “I couldn’t see anything. I don’t know what to do. A-are you-?”

ooc

I apologize for the late reply. I also admit, I had a little bout of writer's block after my last reply.